A deeply important book, looking at a class that we habitually demonize but do not understand.

First of all, I would say, don't read this when you're in a dark state of mind. It is extremely heavy, for such a short work.

This book is a beautiful memoir of life lived as a rural, poor American. I could relate to so much of it, having grown up with a large, working class family on a farm in the middle of nowhere. We need to hear more stories from people on the edges of society, the people most affected by the opioid epidemic, by suicide, by financial ruin from their medical problems.

I found the stories of his friends, in particular the man with cystic fibrosis and the man struggling with opioid addiction, and his father, really effecting. I work in healthcare. I see these people every day, and it made me deeply sad.

Please read this book, reflect on it, ponder it, and work to demand a better life for those on the edges of society. People like Adam's family and friends make up an enormous portion of our population, but have so little voice in what happens in the US, and so little access to healthcare, which I firmly believe is a human right.